Popular pizza shop opens in Leominster

Pizza is recession-proof, according to Lynda Ferrara, owner of Espresso Pizza in Fitchburg. And considering she just opened a second location in Leominster after 48 years in business, it's probably worth taking her word for it.

In tough economic times, a pizza can feed a family, she said, and in times of abundance, a parent will order a pizza to feed the kids and babysitter while they go out for dinner. Either way, the Espresso pies with the trademark sweet sauce are flying out the door by the stack, which is exactly how it's been since the beginning.

When her ex-husband, Mike, purchased the eatery in 1965, he couldn't have known that it would be his wife who would carry on the business. The Fitchburg pizza place was once part of a six-location chain started by the original owner, who also sold his Lowell and Nashua locations in the mid-60s.

A soft opening of the Leominster restaurant in mid-December found hungry patrons charging the front door at 272 Central St. In fact, said Ms. Ferrara, people were stopping in all throughout the construction process, their patience wearing thin as they awaited opening day. A grand opening was held Jan. 2.

Though the two locations are separated by a mere 5.8 miles, anyone familiar with the Twin Cities knows that residents can tend toward the provincial, unwilling to cross city lines if at all humanly possible. This has elevated Espresso to legendary status, and has had Leominster patrons begging, for the better part of five decades, for a more convenient location.

Ms. Ferrara maintains that her ex-husband spent months, which grew into years, perfecting his recipes and his menu, which now includes rice balls, otherwise known as arrancini, which have become something of a signature dish. The recipe, she said, belonged to her former Italian mother-in-law, and she has been pleased to note that Leominster's ample Italian population has taken fondly to the dish.

Though Mr. Ferrara is no longer involved in the business, his legacy includes two daughters, Lisa Caron and Lauren Ferrara. Lauren will start stepping into her mother's shoes as she learns the ropes at the Leominster location. General Manager Juan Reinoso oversees operations at both stores with a focus on the Fitchburg location.

There is no shortage of things to learn, with every menu item from sausage to sauce requiring a homemade touch.

"We grate our own cheese. We make our own dough. We make every single thing ourselves," Ms. Ferrara said.

There has only been one rocky financial time during Espresso's history, a point at which the recession-proof almighty pizza put a strain on the budget. It was 2004, when the price of flour leapt from around $13 a bag to more than $40. With hundreds of pounds of dough being made each week, the restaurant had no choice but to raise prices to survive. But thankfully, the price only stayed elevated for a year or so, and the family took pride in the fact that even in the toughest of times, they maintained their culinary standards.

"That's really the secret to the whole thing," said Ms. Ferrara. "We use high-quality ingredients. And when our prices went up, our customers still came."

While opening additional locations might be, for some business owners, a pathway to increased profits, Ms. Ferrara's motivation to branch out was a bit more personal.

"I wanted to have two restaurants, so that someday, when I am gone, there will be one for each of my daughters," she said.

But don't think that means she is going anywhere anytime soon. She plans to be the head cheese for several more decades.

"I am the board," she said, indicating that she is not only the company's president, but also the vice president, secretary, treasurer and CEO. "I like it that way."

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